We Believe #9: Fostering an Environment of Honesty, Intimacy, and Trust
At Jaywalker Lodge, we focus on helping men find lasting recovery from alcoholism and addiction with a passion for helping those who have stumbled in previous attempts. This is not just what we do, it’s who we are. Most of us were once people in the exact same position, and that’s why our hearts so […]
Outside Issues: Emotional Health
Emotional health is an important issue to address, especially for alcoholics and addicts in recovery. So often, our emotional health gets misplaced or swept up by our mental health and spiritual health practices. It’s a common pattern to focus on our mental and spiritual health in recovery because if we get too far off course […]
Resting on Our Laurels
“Resting on Our Laurels” – This may not be a commonly used phrase anymore, but it still gets a lot of airtime in the rooms of recovery. The words may sound old-fashioned or even silly, but they illuminate an attitude about actions that can be very subversive and potentially very destructive. We may not even […]
Using Hope as a Tool in Treatment
It is nothing less than heartbreaking to suffer from alcoholism and addiction. Not only for those afflicted directly but all who know and love them. It is a devastating disease that wreaks complete havoc on so many lives. It is precisely this aspect of alcoholism and addiction that calls for nothing less than real and […]
Don’t Forget To Study the Big Book
Studying isn’t necessarily everyone’s favorite way to spend time, though most of us have at least a few things we enjoy learning about. For those of us who are alcoholics and addicts, we come into contact with the book Alcoholics Anonymous, commonly known as the “Big Book.” This vital literature actually contains the 12-Step program […]
Putting the Past in Its Proper Place
Everyone has something in their past that weighs on them or still troubles them in other ways. We all have a moment of regret or remorse, something we wish we had done differently or hadn’t done at all. Perhaps there is something we wish we had done. It’s quite common to have some negativity in […]
How Can I Have Self-Discipline and Self-Control?
The quest for self-discipline and self-control goes way back in human history. There are answers aplenty, theories, practices, and opinions, with no shortage of things to try to seek resolution. For most of the world, it’s just a matter of choosing which theory seems to suit them best and finding out whether it works or […]
Emotional Extremes (Why We Should Avoid Them in Recovery)
Emotions are a part of human life. No matter who you are, what you are, or where you’re from, it’s incredibly likely that you have feelings. Some of us may be more sensitive than others, while others may have lost touch with their emotions or tried to bury them. For those of us who are […]
Relationships and Love
No matter who you are — alcoholic, addict, al-anon, double-winner or otherwise — relationships are a huge part of human life, whether we are managing, acquiring, or ending them. Relationships occupy most of our emotional energy and a huge portion of our daily efforts, whether we seem to do well in our relationships or struggle […]
How Do I Find a Higher Power of My Own Understanding?
That’s quite a big question, isn’t it? Perhaps the big question. Finding and understanding our higher power is a quest that mankind has engaged in since ancient times. But we’re not going to go back that far; we’re going to start right here and now. For alcoholics and addicts, the higher power issue is one of […]
